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China Elevator Stories
“He Was Suffering From Social Phobia”
I speak with a former high school principal in China.
07/11/2025

Ruth Silbermayr
Author
It’s April 2025. I chat with the former principal of a high school in China.
He explains, “We once had an American teacher here who was suffering from social phobia. He had a Chinese wife and a son, but he rarely talked. He was very quiet and couldn’t be around people.”
“Did he talk when he was at home, without many people around?”
“Yes, he did. He just couldn’t talk once there were more people around.”
Have you ever met anyone who had social phobia?